Ordinary, out of the ordinary and extraordinary moments all add up to "KarensOrdinaryLife"!

My Latest Creation

My latest creation! Its’s a wall hanging with our last name! With a last name that starts with an apparently awkward letter, I have to create what I can :).

Just go to Hobby Lobby, look for a “Q” and you will quickly learn what I’m talking about. They have an enormous amount of the large “wall letters” throughout the store in all different fonts, shapes and colors. They have them to fit all decors and they are such a great way to personalize your home. But…there are no Q’s. Yep, no Q’s.

I searched far and wide. The only Q’s I have been able to find are the smaller, unfinished wood letters. Okie dokie. That’s what I have with which to work. I’ll make it work. I like a challenge.

Now, I know what you may be thinking…why don’t I just get crafty and make my own large Q? Well, I will be. Lord knows I have enough pallets I’ve collected out back, and a Q shouldn’t be difficult. For right now, though, I wanted to create something with our whole name.

Yes, I am a Pinterest junkie and I’ve seen pins on there for this idea, so it is definitely not new. This is just my twist and how I did it. It was quite inexpensive as well.

It only cost me $16.14 in new materials. I needed to purchase the letters, frames and two yard sticks (to stabilize the back). Everything else I already had on hand, the spray paint, acrylic paint and scrapbook paper. Those items would have been quite inexpensive if I had needed to purchase them as well.

Of course, cost will vary depending on the length of your name and the quality of materials you would like to use. My goal was to see how inexpensive I could make it and see if I liked the result. I made it very inexpensively and I’m thrilled with the result.

Here’s a breakdown of what I spent and where I spent it:

The letters totaled $6.87 at Hobby Lobby. They were on sale. Don’t ever pay full price…if it’s not on sale this week, it most likely will be next week :).

The frames totaled $6.48 at Dollar Tree. Be sure to look through all the available frames and find the best ones for your “buck”.

Finally, the yard sticks were $2.79 at ACE Hardware. They were a “last minute” purchase. I’m sure that I could have gotten them for less somewhere else, but that was the only option where I live.

Not too bad, in my opinion. If you can purchase your materials for less or use more of what you have on hand, that’s fabulous!!

Now, here’s how I did it…basically, by the seat of my pants :).

First, I spray painted the letters (outside and away from anything, of course). If I can master spray painting, ANYONE can! Then I gathered the scrapbook paper, paper cutter and frames.

I then prepped my frames, placed the letter exactly how I wanted it in the frame and cut the paper to the correct size.

Then I placed a small amount of glue on the back of the letter before placing the paper in the frame. This will hold the letter in place, and if you only use a small amount, you can change the paper if you decide you would like a different look later. Psst…I’m thinking it could be changed for holidays and different seasons ;). Then I put the back of the frame in place.

At this point, the individual frames with letters are done and you could hang them separately in a neat design if you choose. I wanted them to be a single, linear unit, so I had to do this final step.

I painted the yard sticks black to match the frames.

I used these for support in the back, along with gluing the frames together on the sides. Make sure that you glue the painted yard sticks to the backing of the frame, not the frame itself, so that you can change the paper when you would like.

Then voila! You have a personalized wall hanging for your home!

Please excuse the ugly, old paneling in the background! One day, I’ll have beautifully painted drywall again :).

I hope you have fun trying this or any other project you may choose! Crafting and DIYing is a great opportunity to show your artistic and creative side and to reduce stress in this crazy world of ours! ❤